It's not simple

I initially thought I'd write about my cancer journey chronologically. Instead I'll most likely write about cancer related things that come to my mind.

This is part of a post that a friend wrote. I love this. Cancer is not like strep throat where you get sick, take antibiotics and rest, then move on with your life. It is the friend that never leaves.

A dear friend who is a nurse sent me a note and said something very interesting. I paraphrase but basically what she said was that the perception of cancer that most people have is that you have a straight forward cancer diagnosis, then treatment followed by recovery. And you are done. Life resumes. It is a blip. But after decades in the business she says that is mostly myth and often doesn’t happen that way.

When I was first diagnosed I had no idea what was in store for me. In fact I had the belief that breast cancer was highly treatable and not so bad. Cancer is cancer. A friend said my treatment would take a year. She was right. I had chemo from March to August, surgery in October (six weeks after chemo ended) and radiation in December/January (six weeks after surgery). My final in person visit with my oncologist was almost a full year after I started the process. I'm still under the care of the BC Cancer Agency with a longer leash. That is oddly comforting. Hopefully I'll know early if the cancer starts moving or growing or whatever.

My journey has been relatively straightforward as compared to others I know. Cancer is a crap shoot. It always leaves its mark. That being said, I choose to live my life and cross any bridges when I get to them.

 

[Mendalla]

Nice meme. I think I've seen it before. Person in black with umbrella immediately conjures up this image.

 

[Northwind]

Perfect. That would be very cool...... years from now for the record.

 

[Mendalla]

On topic, I do find that people tend to both overestimate and underestimate cancer.

I think the underestimate part of it is cancers like yours that can be handled in a fairly straightforward way. I have one family member with cancer who isn't even getting treated, just monitored (a slow-growing prostate tumour). So, it seems like we have things well in hand when people's experience of cancer comes from that side.

But then there's still some pretty horrible, awful "dead in a few months" cancer stories or people requiring elaborate treatment regimens that last for months or years. If people's experience come from that side, then cancer is still "OMGWTFBBQ You're doomed!" even when it isn't. That's the overestimating.

The reality seems to be that cancer is a range and a lot depends on where in that range your cancer lies. You can't really judge a particular case based on other cases without looking at a bunch of variables (what cancer it is, how early in the game it was caught, what other health issues are involved, what treatment they have access to, and so on).

 

[Northwind]

The reality seems to be that cancer is a range and a lot depends on where in that range your cancer lies. You can't really judge a particular case based on other cases without looking at a bunch of variables (what cancer it is, how early in the game it was caught, what other health issues are involved, what treatment they have access to, and so on).

Yes there are many variables. I've decided cancer is a crap shoot. There are those who are monitored for awhile then suddenly become metastatic. I know people who have been metastatic for ten or more years. I've met people who lived super healthy lifestyles and some on the other end of the spectrum who were diagnosed. It's most certainly not simple. Thankfully though, there are good treatments out there.

 

[jimkenney12]

Part of the problem is thinking of cancer as a disease instead of a category of diseases. B's meningioma was a safe kind of cancer as it was slow growing and rarely carcinoid. When it was reaching a size where it could develop problems, it was easily treated with a single dose of radiation which was simpler and safer than surgery. Her diagnosis of lymphoma in her eye muscle was trickier and the PET scan revealed active nodules in her chest. That lymphoma required 12 doses of lower dose radiation. The active nodules required removal of the middle lobe of her right lung. It also confirmed she had DIPNEC, neuro endocrine cells that become cancerous. She has other modules in other parts of her lungs that can stay quiet or become active, but hopefully will stay quiet

The treatment of the lymphoma in the eye muscle eliminated the lymphoma but left her with a stretched muscle and double vision. She had surgery for the double vision but it was inadequate and her glasses need a special prism on the lenses for that eye.

The lymphoma in the nerve in her jaw will get 16 low doses of radiation. Getting lymphoma a second time means she will probably get it again some time. The lymphomas have not been life threatening, just caused other problems like pain in the nerve.

She will probably have good health for many years but the DIPNEC and lymphoma will always put a shadow over her life. Her mother died from stage IV colon cancer. My father died from GI cancer which caused large tumours in his liver. They never found the GI cancer that caused the tumours. My mother died from stage IV pancreatic cancer.

Cancers and autoimmune diseases are extra challenging by being malfunctioning of parts of our bodies rather than attacks by outside agents.

I like the person dressed in black with an umbrella. Not sure I would want them in my funeral or celebration of life service.

 

[Northwind]

Part of the problem is thinking of cancer as a disease instead of a category of diseases

Exactly. I've been surprised to learn how many variations of breast cancer there are.

 

[Mendalla]

Not sure I would want them in my funeral or celebration of life service.

Oh, I would love to have the officiant dressed as Patrick McNee from The Avengers (the 1960s spy-fi kind). Then again, I've said before that I want "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life" from Monty Python's The Life of Brian played as I am carried out. Hey, it's from a crucifixion scene so qualifies as religious, right?

Part of the problem is thinking of cancer as a disease instead of a category of diseases.

I think B's history and your family history really drive that point home. Sorry to hear that you've kind of been dogged by cancers over the years.

Cancer is a fairly recent thing in our family. We used to think cardiovascular disease was the family weak point. Mom's family (including her) all died of heart attacks, Dad's mother had a bypass, Grandad was ultimately taken out by a stroke. But in my generation, we're up to two dealing with cancer now, out of 5 (three in my family and two cousins). One is skin cancer, which might be expected given how much sun time we got back before people got paranoid about UV, but the other is prostate which is unheard of in our family tree that we know of (possibly Dad, but there's some controversy there and his third wife, who might have been able to give the definitive answer, died last year).